Legends Focus of New Racing Set

by Paul Angilly
July 4, 2005

Card sets featuring retired legends, complete with event-used memorabilia and/or autograph cards
are now a staple of the baseball card hobby, and to a lesser extent in the hockey, football and
basketball card markets as well. Now Press Pass has made history the major focus of a NASCAR card
set for the first time in a major issue with its 2005 Press Pass Legends offering, released last week.

The 50-card base set features, as Press Pass advertisements claim, "The past, present and
future champions of NASCAR." The black-bordered cards feature a classy design front and back,
with plenty of career highlights detailed, and are printed on premium 24-point stock.

The high-end product ($6.99 suggested price per 5-card pack) delivers plenty of memorabilia and autographs.
Each hobby box (12 per case) includes three mini boxes with six packs in each, with one autograph or dual
race-used memorabilia card found in each mini box (one autograph and two memorabilia cards per master box)
and at least one serial-numbered base card parallel per pack.

There are two different memorabilia insert sets: "Dual Threads," pairing race-used firesuits from
two NASCAR stars, and "Threads & Treads," dual race-used firesuit and tire cards from nine drivers.

Base card parallels come in four levels: Blue, numbered to 1,300 with silver and blue foil stamping; Gold,
numbered to 700 with silver and gold foil stamping; "Holo," numbered to 100 with silver and holofoil
stamping; and "Solo," 1-of-1 cards featuring green foil stamping. "Press Pass Plates," the
actual press plates used to create the cards, with only four plates made for each card side, are also randomly
inserted.

Each box also contains a contest entry card which can be redeemed for a chance to win a rare 25x39-inch 50th
anniversary lithograph signed by 34 of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers.

Other non-memorabilia inserts highlight the sport's history: "Greatest Moments" (1:12 packs) are embossed
holofoil and foil cards that take a look back at key 12 events in NASCAR history; and "Heritage" (1:24
packs) is an embossed foil nine-card insert that tells the story of how NASCAR icons progressed to stardom.

Keon, other Whalers in Franchises update: In The Game has announced it is creating a 50-card update for
its popular 2004-05 NHL Franchises series. Each set, available directly from the company for $39.95 plus shipping,
will include cards numbered 451-500, plus either a game-used memorabilia or an autograph card. Some sets will
include both a game-used memorabilia and an autograph card.

The checklist includes all-new cards featuring some of the greatest players in NHL history, including two cards
depicting Hockey Hall-of-Famer Dave Keon, pictured as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Hartford Whalers.
For the first time, Keon will also be featured on game-used memorabilia cards (all picturing him with the Maple
Leafs). Keon also signed two different autograph cards for the series - one picturing him with the Whalers and
the other with the Maple Leafs.

Other prominent players in the set are pictured with teams that collectors do not normally expect. For example,
Billy Smith has a card as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, Darryl Sittler is shown with the Philadelphia Flyers
and Tony Esposito can be seen during his short stint with the Montreal Canadiens.

Unlike the U.S. East edition of the set, the Hartford Whalers are well-represented in the update on both base and
insert cards. The Whalers checklist includes base cards of Keon and Rick MacLeish, an "Original Sticks"
memorabilia insert of Mark Howe and autographed cards from Andre Lacroix, Keon, John Garrett and Rick Ley.

Marvin Williams inks deal with Upper Deck: The Upper Deck Company announced last week prior to the 2005
NBA draft that it has signed NCAA champion Marvin Williams to his first professional trading card sponsorship
deal.

The No. 2 overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks and a McDonald's and Parade All-America award winner, he reportedly
has agreed to an exclusive agreement with Upper Deck which includes autographs, packaging and promotional rights.
Upper Deck will also incorporate Williams into upcoming memorabilia products.

Williams will make his first appearance in Upper Deck's Rookie Debut set, due out in late August.

About the author
Paul Angilly is a sports reporter for The Bristol Press in Connecticut, and
has been collecting sports cards and memorabilia for 30 years. He is not a
dealer, nor does he make a profit from buying and selling cards. His weekly
sports card and memorabilia collecting column appears each week in The
Bristol Press and several other
daily newspapers in
Connecticut.